


Learning Curve

by rw_eaden



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alcohol, Alpha Castiel (Supernatural), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Angst, Beta Sam, Crushes, Dating, Dean Winchester/Benny Lafitte/Aaron Bass (mentioned), Ellen Harvelle/Mary Winchester (mentioned), First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hormone therapy, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Mentions of Sam/Others, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Sam Winchester Big Bang 2017, Suicidal Thoughts (mentioned), Swearing, Teacher Castiel, Teacher Sam, anti-Beta Sentiment, hormone treatment, implied switch Sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-01 22:58:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10202750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rw_eaden/pseuds/rw_eaden
Summary: Sam Harvelle-Winchester finally got his first job teaching at North Star Academy, one of the best private schools in the city. It’s a good job but the issue is Castiel Novak, the fifth-grade teacher down that hall he’s absolutely smitten with, but probably doesn’t have a chance with. After so many awful dating experiences, Sam just doesn’t have it in him to ask him out and even if he did, there’s always the chance that Sam’s sex would be an issue anyway.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was my entry for the Sam Winchester Big Bang (2017)! 
> 
> So, I kinda pushed myself out of my comfort zone for this fic by writing from the perspective of a character I don't usually write, writing a ship I don't usually write, and writing something kinda fluffy. Honestly, I'm surprised I got it done and it makes sense. lol. 
> 
> I would really like to thank my artist for the bang, emmatheslayer, who made a lovely manip for my story, and my beta/brainstormer buddy/cheerleader maliciouslycreative. I couldn't've done it without either of them.

There were few things Sam liked more than Sunday dinners with his family. Usually. This particular Sunday dinner, however, was one Sam wished he could skip. There were only three excuses for missing one of his moms’ Sunday dinners: college, illness, or death, and while Sam wasn’t technically dead, he sure as hell felt like it.

It had been the first week of his new job working as a third-grade teacher for North Star Elementary and he was beyond beat. The first three days were professional development; which really boiled down to sitting in meetings and being bored out of his mind. The next two were when he actually got to meet his class and go through the first day of school business by collecting supplies, getting kids used to the new environment, and getting to know them. That was all fine and good, but it was exhausting as hell, especially because Sam had never done it before. He’d taught, sure, but as a substitute. Moving on to the level of actually teaching on his own with his own plans was hard. Every day after work, he’d sleep until seven and then eat before he went back to bed. The weekend had been a little easier. However, after hours of looking over the introductory projects his students had completed in the first few days (pictures of themselves and small paragraphs of what they liked) and trying to put faces to names, he was fried. Still, it was no excuse for missing Sunday dinner, according to his mother.

Sam was the last one to get to his mother's’ house so he had to park his car in the street because the driveway was already full of cars. He didn’t bother knocking, just walked right in to find his sister, Jo, and Aaron, one of Dean’s mates, in a heated discussion over the merits of baseball over football. They didn’t even notice him standing in the doorway.

“It’s the national pastime for a reason, Jo,” Aaron said.

“It’s boring as hell. What kind of sport doesn’t even allow tackling!” Jo said.

“Oh and football isn’t boring? Half the game is watching a bunch of grown men move back and forth a few yards. They had to invent rules so it doesn’t stay that boring back and forth for hours.”

“Hey, guys,” Sam said, kicking his shoes off.

“Hey there, stranger,” Jo said.

Sam scoffed. “Please, you saw me last week.”

“Yeah but you usually call at least once in the week. Your new job make you too important for the rest of us?”

“It’s a private school, not anything fancy.”

“Sure,” Aaron said, rolling his eyes, “not like it’s impossible for those kids to get into or anything. Or like you have to have a damn recommendation from the President to get the job there or anything. Not prestigious at all.”

Sam rolled his eyes, walking around the couch and flopping down between the two of them. Jo shoved him, pushing him closer into Aaron’s side, causing Aaron to squirm away in order to give them enough space.

“It’s really not that prestigious,” Sam said, “it’s just a job.”

“Says the Stanford boy,” Dean said. Sam looked up to find him coming in from the kitchen, a beer in each hand. He walked over, handing on to Aaron before pecking him on the lips and settling down on the floor between Aaron’s legs.

Jo pouted. “What? You didn’t get one for me?”

Dean glanced over at her, taking a long drink from the other beer he had carried in. “You got two legs that ain’t broken. You want a beer you get one yourself.”

“Pssh. And brave the kitchen with mom and mom and Benny? I’m not insane, Dean.”

Sam snorted. His moms, as lovely as they were, tended to get very territorial about the kitchen. They both loved cooking but there were only a few people who had ever been allowed in the kitchen when they were both in there. And god forbid you ever just stand around and try to talk to anyone while they did the work. Inevitably, their mom Ellen would shove some kind of vegetable in your hands and tell you to chop it, only to get frustrated when you weren’t doing it right and take it over herself. It was a miracle any of them ever learned how to cook in the first place. Benny managed because he had owned a restaurant for years and even though he was the boss now he’d spent years taking orders from everyone else.

The four of them fell into a comfortable silence when the commercial break ended and the game came back on. Next to him, Aaron let out a bored huff and Sam sympathized. He liked to play sports but couldn’t stand watching them. Dean, Jo, Benny, and Ellen loved them though, so Sam and Aaron pretty much had to suck it up and wait until conversation was permitted at commercial breaks.

Half-time was called and the commentators started blabbering on about plays offs and quarterbacks and all kinds of other things that Sam didn’t care about when Dean nudged Sam’s leg.

“How was your first week teaching, by the way?”

“It was fine,” Sam said with a shrug. “It’s a lot different from subbing, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, no kidding. The little monster treating you alright so far?”

“Pretty much. They seem like good kids for the most part.”

“No temper tantrums yet?” Dean asked.

“Nah. They’re all probably too old for that at this point.”

Dean snorted. “You’d be surprised. Last year I had this kid, Marv or whatever, threw a freaking fit every single time we broke into workshop groups and someone criticized his stories. They sucked, by the way, but couldn’t tell him that. It was all so unfair to him, and we all were just too blind to see his genius, according to him. But every single story was the opposite of what anyone would want to read. He wrote underdog stories where the hero always lost, and not even in a believable way. And he tried to kill off some of the characters everyone liked the most but in bullshit ways.”

“Yikes,” Jo said.

“Yikes is right,” Dean said. “Got the little bastard in my advanced lit class now and I’m just soo looking forward to that one. The kids gonna love my Hemmingway section.”

“You mean your ‘Ernest Hemmingway is a self-important dick’ lecture?” Aaron asked.

“That’s the one.” Dean smiled, taking another drink of his beer.

“I am so glad I don’t work with teenagers,” Sam said.

“Yeah, you get to work with boogers and sticky fingers and ‘he pulled on my pigtails’, or ‘she won't share the glue’,” Dean said, using his whiniest voice.

“It’s not gonna be that bad,” Sam said.

“Maybe not now, but it’ll happen.”

“You’re really Mr. Optimist tonight,” Sam said.

Dean shrugged. “What can I say I’m just a big ball of sunshine.”

“Hey, sunshine, get your butt in here and help,” Ellen called from the kitchen doorway, carving knife in hand. “And the rest of you, get the table set.”

Dean grumbled and got up off the floor, setting his beer on the coffee table. Sam and the others made their way into the dining room where Sam set out the placemats and Jo and Aaron set out plates and silverware. Dean and Benny came out, bringing out the meal in segments. It was a couple of roast chickens, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and a large plate of roasted corn. They all settled into their usual seats, Sam sitting next to Jo and across from Dean, Benny, and Aaron, their moms at either end of the table. Mary poured each of them a glass of white wine and announced that they could all dig in which signaled the beginnings of a squabble over the dark meat between Dean and Jo. Sam rolled his eyes and dug into the mashed potatoes, pretending he didn’t hear their alpha growling. He’d gotten pretty good at it over the years, especially growing up with three alphas in the house. It was really bad when they were all teenagers and Jo and Dean were constantly trying to out do each other, either through fighting or competition in sports and school. More often than not, Ellen had to get in between them and stop them from tearing each other apart. Most days, they got along but they still seemed to fight over the dumbest things, like who got the thigh meat of one chicken when there was another completely un-touched chicken right next to them.

Dean relented most of the one chicken to Jo after he was distracted by the stuffing, and the clinking of forks on ceramics replaced the rumbling growls Dean and Jo were giving each other. Compliments to the meal were passed around while they tucked into their meals and an easy silence fell in the dining room.

“How was your first week at work, Sam?” Mary asked.

“It was fine,” Sam said, letting his fork hover over his plate, “little stressful but I’m sure it will even out in the next few weeks.”

“You’re co-workers treating you right?” Ellen asked.

“Yeah, everyone’s been pretty nice so far, I guess. I’m still the new guy so it’s I don’t think they’re used to me just yet.”

“Any cute omegas? Dashing alphas? Radiant betas?” Jo asked, nudging him with her elbow.

Sam rolled his eyes. “I’ve only been around a few weeks. I don’t know,” he said, stuffing a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

“He’s evading the question, that means yes,” Aaron said, not even bothering to look away from his plate.

Sam rolled his eyes. If he were being honest, there was one guy he’d taken interest in. His name was Castiel Novak and he taught fifth grade. Sam hadn’t gotten the chance to really speak to him over the past few weeks, but he seemed nice. Sam hadn’t noticed a mating mark or a wedding ring around his finger, but then again Sam hadn’t really gotten much of a chance to look at him closely. He hadn’t even gotten close enough to catch his scent yet. He was very attractive, however, with large blue eyes and the softest, most radiant little smile Sam had ever seen. Yeah,  he had a bit of a crush, but he wasn’t going to say anything to his family. Especially not when he wasn’t even sure if there could be anything between them yet.

“I’m not evading the question, all I said was that I haven’t been around very long yet. I don’t know yet.”

“My ass,” Jo said.

“Joanna! Not at the dinner table,” Ellen snapped.

“Sorry,” Jo huffed. “But Sam is totally lying.”

“Totally,” Dean said around a mouthful of corn, “he’s just worried we’re gonna tease him.”

“Come on, we’re not twelve. We’re not gonna tease you for your crush, Sam,” Jo said.

“Now who’s the liar?”

“I’m still not hearing a name and or a description,” Jo said.

“Whatever happened between you and that omega? What was his name? Michael?” Sam asked.

“Whatever did happen with you and Michael?” Mary asked.

Jo threw a sideways glare in Sam’s direction, the smell of sour wine rolling off her. Sam had to hide his smirk behind an ear of corn.

Jo had proceeded to explain that she and Michael had been taking a break for a few months, failing to mention most of the juicy details she had shared with Sam a few weeks before. They were both hot-heads from time to time, even if Michael tended to be more reserved and uptight. The two of them had been seeing each other for the better part of six months, and they were mostly good together. When they fought, however, they fought like cat and dogs, yelling and screaming and kicking each other out of the house. Jo had slept on his couch more than once in the past few months, and she’d also crashed at Dean, Benny, and Aaron’s more than that. Sam was of the opinion that they should probably stay away from each other, but that was a conversation he wasn’t anticipating having with Jo. The two of them weren’t going to end up mated any time soon, but they were going to fight and make up and make their mistakes for a while more before they would figure that out.

Sam was saved from talking much about his job or his fledgling crush for the rest of the night thanks to the slight passing of the buck that happened over the course of the dinner. After Jo finished her barely-there explanation of what happened between her and Michael and listened to their mothers suggest some of the sons of their co-workers for her to date, she made a comment about pups and the firing squad of questions turned on Dean. That saved both Sam and Jo from anymore talk about mates and dating while Dean got peppered with questions about when he was going to give their mothers grandbabies.

Sam finally made it home after ten o’clock, falling asleep without even changing clothes.


	2. Chapter 2

If there were worse ways of starting out the work week, Sam didn’t know them. He woke up late, only having time for a shower before he was out the door. There was a crash on the freeway and he was stuck in traffic with an empty stomach. He had just enough battery to phone the school and let them know he would be late before his phone died and he found himself locked in between several other cars for an hour.

When he finally got to the school he was chewed out by the principal’s secretary for giving them such late notice for his absence. It wasn’t his fault that some moron couldn’t use a turn signal and creamed another car, but she didn’t seem to give a rats ass. He stopped at the teacher’s lounge and poured himself a cup of the semi-toxic sludge that was left sitting in the ancient coffee pot and grabbed the last cruller from the donut box before heading back to his classroom to unlock the door and settle himself in. He took a few grounding moments before walking across the hall to collect his class. According to the secretary, they didn’t have time to call in a substitute to look after his class, so one of the other teachers offered to watch his class until Sam could get there.

The door was already open when Sam walked in. The children in his class had partnered up with kids from the other class, sitting cross legged on the floor with books sitting in between them. The other children, fifth graders if Sam was to judge by their size, were sounding out words and urging the smaller children to follow along with their eyes and pudgy little fingers.

“Good morning, Mr. Harvelle-Winchester.”

Sam jumped, nearly sloshing his coffee on the floor but only managed to spill a little on himself. It was Castiel, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and was now standing next to him, watching the children as they read to each other.

“Cas- Mr. Novak. I didn’t see you when I came in. Sorry.” Sam felt the head rise in his cheeks as he brushed his hand uselessly at the wet stain.

Castiel reached behind Sam to the shelf sitting by the door and handed him a box of tissues. Sam took the tissues and blotted at the stain on his stomach.

“Don’t apologize. I’m glad to see you. I was worried that you’d been in an accident,” Castiel said.

“Oh. No, no accident, just traffic and a bad morning. I didn’t mean to worry or inconvenience anyone.”

“That’s good. And you didn’t. I’ve had to cover much worse over the years. Besides, the kids like these kinds of things.” He gestured towards the classroom where the kids were still reading. Most of them hadn’t even noticed Sam’s presence.

“You do this a lot?”

“I’ve done it in the past. Peer teaching, especially when it’s something like reading a book has shown to be beneficial for both parties. They both get a chance to practice their skills in a way that seems more like enjoying time with friends. Plus the older children feel some pride in being able to mentor other children.”

“Huh.”

“We could make a weekly thing out of this, if you’d like to. Doesn’t have to be on Mondays, just when you have time. But I should tell you that these kids switch off for science and social studies with Mrs. Tran Thursday’s after lunch so that’s no good for me.”

“You wouldn’t mind doing something like that?” Sam asked.

“Of course not. It’s good for the kids,” Castiel said.

“Oh. Ok. Sure. If Monday mornings work that’s fine with me. The schedule is a little nebulous at this point so whatever works, works.”

“Good. Monday mornings after announcements, then.”

Sam took a sip of his coffee, glancing back over his class. This could be a good thing for them. Maybe not for Sam, as he was standing probably a little too close to Cas and he could feel himself blushing a little. Sam couldn’t help it though, Cas was attractive, especially in the dark, pin-striped waistcoat and eggplant dress shirt he was wearing. His scent wasn’t helping matters either. As a beta, Sam’s senses weren’t as sharp as his alpha or omega peers but he could still scent the people around him, especially if they were close. Cas smelled like honeysuckle and fresh cut grass, but Sam couldn’t tell if that meant he was an alpha or omega or beta. That underlying sweetness omegas had and the earthy musk of alphas were completely lost on him most of the time. He’d only been able to smell it when alphas or omegas were in rut or heat, but  then everyone could smell it. Honestly, either scent would make sense on Cas.

“Sam? Did you hear me?” Castiel asked, shaking Sam by his elbow.

Sam blinked himself out of his thoughts. “Sorry. I got…uh…distracted. What were you saying?”

“I asked if you’d like to have lunch to discuss the reading arrangements. We can meet in your room or mine, but I do have a microwave if that was going to sway your decision.”

“Whatever works,” Sam said, “I’m flexible.”

Castiel squinted slightly and Sam wanted to smack himself. He didn’t mean for it to sound like flirtation, but it sounded a little like it, at least to him.

“Let’s meet here,” Castiel said, “if it’s all the same to you.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Castiel nodded and the two stood there quiet for what felt like forever. It was probably only two minutes at most, but Sam felt every second tick by. He wasn’t sure what the protocol on something like this was. Should he take his class and leave or should he keep up the conversation? What more should he talk to Cas about? There wasn’t a whole lot of things the two of them could talk about at this point, being total strangers and all, but it wasn’t exactly like he could start up small talk and really get to know him when there were forty children in the room. Not that he’d want to talk about things that kids shouldn’t be aware of but it was still a little weird. It would break the teacher persona if any of the kids overheard them talking about relationships or movies or whatever. Not that they would be talking about relationships intentionally, it might just come up naturally, like it does when people get to know each other. Not like asking anyone out on a date or anything. No that would be awkward. And way far into the future. Not something to discuss right then and there, if it ever came up.

“Sam, I hate to break the kids up, but mine have to get their new spelling lists and it’s almost a quarter to nine,” Castiel said, looking down at his watch.

“Wow, yeah, mine should probably get their spelling stuff started too. And we have a science thing to do. So, yeah, I’ll uh, I’ll get them back over to my classroom and we’ll talk during lunch.”

Castiel nodded, throwing Sam a soft smile that he was barely able to resist ducking his head and blushing from.

Sam clapped his hands together, warm smile plastered on his face when he told the kids it was time to get their things and head back to the classroom. They groaned and whined, but collected their backpacks from where they were lined up against the wall under the chalkboard. He told the class to thank Mr. Novak, which they did in only slightly creepy unison, and he lead them back across the hall where he took attendance and got them started on the day. The rest of the morning was substantially better than the way it started.

~~~~

Sam dropped his kids off at the cafeteria at eleven thirty, then strolled back to his classroom. Kids in third, fourth, and fifth grade all had the same lunch, which happened to be an hour long if the lunch time and the recess afterwards were counted as one thing. Sam, for one, was thrilled to have a whole hour to do whatever he wanted, sans children, especially on that particular day. He was starting to get the names of the kids down, some quicker than others and some for less fortunate reasons than others. There was one little girl, Becky, who had been fighting for his attention all day long. She was sweet, if not a little hyperactive, but she was definitely a lot to handle. She’d been calling him over all morning, asking him to look over her work and tell her whether or not she was doing things correctly. It was simple math, triple digit addition and subtraction, stuff she was flying though, but she kept asking. Sam was pretty sure she was one of those kids who constantly needed attention, which Sam was hoping he could get her to quit doing over the course of the year. No luck on this particular day, though.

Sam was finally able to change his shirt when he got back to the classroom. Dean had told him to pack extra clothes everyday, just incase something happened with the “little goobers”, as Dean put it. He thought it was a little ridiculous at the time, but he sure as hell was glad he did it at that moment. It wasn’t like it was a huge mess, but he hated the idea of walking around the rest of the day with a coffee stain on his white shirt.

Sam threw a new shirt on and grabbed his lunch, heading over to Cas’s classroom. He pushed in the door, finding Cas at his desk with a slice of pizza hanging out of his mouth.

“Sam, hello,” he said, setting the pizza down and wiping the sauce off his cheeks.

“Hey, Cas.”

“I apologize,” Castiel said, “but I don’t think I have a chair made for anyone who’s regular sized yet. You’re welcome to pull up a beanbag chair, though,” he gestured to the cushy red blobs sitting in a sunny corner where several bookcases sat.

Sam shrugged, setting his lunch box down on Castiel’s desk and dragging one of the beanbag chairs to the other side of the desk. He sat down, instantly sinking into the chair. He faltered, trying to pull himself up but only sank down further, his knees sticking out almost above his head.

Cas let out a soft chuckle like a rumbling purr as Sam struggled to find a decent position. When he finally was able to haul himself up he was nearly eye-to eye with Cas, if not a little shorter.

“That’s new,” Sam said, trying his best to tuck one leg underneath him so that he wasn’t sticking his knees too far in the air.

“What’s that?” Cas asked.

“Nothing. I’m just not used to being this short,” he laughed.

“Small furniture will simultaneously make you feel like an awkward giant and a significantly smaller human being,” Cas said.

“Yeah, I’m getting that lately.”

“How new are you to teaching?” Cas asked.

Sam shrugged, unzipping his lunch box and shaking the bottle of one of the smoothies he’d packed for himself. “This is actually my first real teaching job.”

“Impressive.”

“Not really. I just got lucky with the last guy retiring and all.”

“Perhaps, but there were several dozen applicants. You must have done something to impress them.”

“Well, whatever it was I’m glad I did it.”

“You seem to be a good fit for the kids.”

“So far, I think I am,” Sam said, taking a drink of his smoothie. He winced. It definitely could have used a little more honey. “I like working with them so far, so that’s good.”

“Wait until flu season,” Castiel said with a shudder, “you’ll want to come to work in a hazmat suit.”

“Germaphobe, eh?”

“I didn’t used to be. But I was relatively healthy before I started teaching. Over the past seven years I’ve had strep three times, a cold every year, and the chickenpox.” He took a bit of pizza again. “Chickenpox is hell by the way. Don’t get chickenpox.”

“I had it when I was a kid. My sister brought it home and we all wound up getting it. I don’t think I have to worry about it now though.”

“Lucky.”

“Definitely.”

The topic shifted after a few moments of silence and Sam and Cas decided on which of their students they would put together for their reading groups. It was mostly winging it on Sam’s part, but he figured Cas was probably winging it, too. They could always switch students around if they didn’t get along but that would probably take a few weeks to notice which groups were and weren’t working. It took about ten minutes total to sort it all out, which left another forty minutes for the two of them to fill.

Sam unwrapped a sandwich and took a bite, letting his eyes travel around the room. Most of the room was covered in the basics, like writing charts and accountability tags, cubbies with books and notebooks in them and a far wall lined with hooks for book bags and jackets. The space behind Cas’s desk, however, was a little window into his own world. The bulletin board behind him was mostly blank, save for a few photos of what Sam assumed were friends and family in different places. The largest picture was of a small blonde girl, black plastic mouse ears on her head with Cinderella’s castle behind her. She had Cas’s bright blue eyes.

“She’s cute,” Sam said, pointing at the photo.

Castiel swiveled around in his chair. “Oh, Claire.” He smiled, “thank you. She is quite adorable. Less so now that she’s approaching her teenage years.”

“Oh, god. That’s going to be fun.”

“I’m grateful I don’t have to spend every day with her. Not that I don’t love her, but I might lose my mind.”

“You’re divorced?”

Castiel shook his head. “Oh, no. Claire isn’t mine. She’s my niece. I never mated.”

“Why not? Not to intrude or anything, I know some people are sensitive about that. So you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to but I was just curios. I’m not mated either but there’s a whole story there, but if you don’t want to talk about it…”

“Sam, you’re rambling.”

“Oh. Sorry. I do that sometimes. I don’t know why. I’m not really aware of it until I start doing it and…oh. Sorry. Doing it again.”

“It’s alright Sam,” Castiel said with a smirk. “I never got mated because I never really found anyone I wanted to settle down with. I don’t get out much on the weekends and bars were never for me. At least not for finding a prospective mate.”

“They’re still time though,” Sam said.

“I suppose that’s true. But thirty years old with only one or two serious relationships under my belt doesn’t bode well for most single people.”

“I dunno about that. One of my brother’s mates, Benny, was thirty-two when they got mated. And he wound up mated to two alphas.”

Cas squinted. “Your brother has two mates? That’s rather unconventional.”

Sam shrugged. “Unconventional is kinda what my family does. My moms were mated back in the sixties, back before it was technically legal for them to do so. It kinda makes sense for my brother to break the mold, in as many ways as possible. His first mate was another male alpha. He’s always been the kind of guy to tell society to stuff it.”

“What about you, Sam?” Cas asked.

“What do you mean?” Sam took another large bite of his sandwich.

“Are you the kind to tell society to “stuff it”?” Castiel asked, using finger quotes and everything. It was way more endearing than it should have been.

Sam fidgeted, causing him to sink further into the beanbag. “I dunno, probably not. I guess I just try to go with the flow and do my own thing. Not really out to make a statement or anything.”

“But your brother does?”

“Kinda. I don’t know if it’s his own little form of rebellion or if that’s actually who he is. I mean, back when we were in high school he made a big fuss about getting a GSA established in school and protesting typical alpha/omega binary. I dunno, maybe it’s because he knew a beta and wanted everyone else to understand that they weren’t just a myth or broken or whatever the hell else they say about betas. Cause they’re not, you know, they’re not broken or freaks or defective or anything like that, they’re their own specific designation. I went along with Dean because he kind of manhandled me into doing it, too, but it wasn’t all bad.”

“He sounds like a good person. Perhaps a little intense, but his heart is in a good place.”

“Sure. He’s the best person I know. But definitely a little intense.”

“Is he the oldest?”

“Oh yeah. He’s seven minutes older than me, fourteen minutes older than our sister.”

“My older sister is the most domineering of our litter, too. She’s also an alpha. She’s works in stocks and bonds now, which suits her. But growing up in her shadow was more than a little intimidating, to say the least.”

“Yeah I know how that goes.”

There was another lull in the conversation during which Sam finished his sandwich and Cas devoured and apple. Sam was a little flustered with it, watching as Cas licked the dripping apple juice off his lips. Maybe Sam just needed get out more, hook-up with someone or something. Get it out of his system. He hadn’t slept with anyone since he attempted law school, and that was a road he wasn’t interested in going down again. Her name had been Ruby and she was great, but probably not the right person for him. She was also a big part of the reason Sam had ended up dropping out of law school, what with the partying the two of them wound up doing. He couldn’t blame her though, and if he was honest with himself law school was not a good fit for him. Sure, he was smart enough to do it, but the stress it put him through wasn’t good for him. Neither was the amount of Adderall he wound up taking. Or the alcohol. Still, that had been nearly three years ago and he really was ready to have something with someone new.

The issue was, of course, actually finding someone who was interested in actually having a relationship with him. It wasn’t always the first issue to come up, but Sam made a point of telling people that he was beta before he slept with anyone. Their reactions were…varied to say the least. Sometimes it was “What does that mean?” sometimes it was “Are you sure it’s not just…hormones?” and once or twice it was “Oh. You’re one of those people who drank the Kool-Aid. You know that crap is all made up by academics and gender studies majors, right? Look, I’m not saying you are an omega or whatever, but I think if they really addressed the underlying issues…”. Those last dates never did last too long. Some people, like Ruby and an omega named Jess he dated in high school were fine with it, but those relationships fell apart because of their own issues.

Sometimes Sam wished he had been born an alpha or an omega. It wasn’t as bad as it used to be, back when everyone else was presenting and he was convinced he was broken. His moms took him to the doctor when he was fifteen and still hadn’t hit a rut or heat yet. The doctor ran a full panel of bloodwork, followed by a genetic screening and an ultrasound. He found out he was beta three weeks before his sixteenth birthday, and he cried the entire day. The doctors had suggested hormone therapy, which could make him feel more like either an alpha or an omega if he wanted. He would never be able to bare children, and there was a possibility that he wouldn’t be able to produce viable sperm either. No decisions were made that day. Sam was far too emotional to think about what he wanted to do and his mothers want to do some research of their own.

It took Sam a long time to accept that he was beta and that that was okay. He did try hormone therapies for six months, but they made everything worse. He tried being an omega, but the injections he had to take made him sick and moody and frankly a little suicidal. When his mother Mary found out she put her foot down, throwing them out and vowing to figure something else out. More research and outreach to local LGBT organizations provided more solid information about what being a beta actually meant and what a young person could do to feel more comfortable in their own skin. Eventually Sam came to accept that he was who he was and no amount of wishing could change that. He was a beta, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He didn’t have a rut or a heat which was actually pretty nice. His body still produced slick so he could still be ready for penetration whenever he wanted and he didn’t pop a knot so both he and his partners didn’t have to worry about being stuck in awkward positions of up to an hour at a time. And a diminished sense of smell meant that wasn’t bothered by smell the way other people often were and he could be around rutting alphas or heat-stricken omegas without the smell grating on his nerves. Despite all the crap he’d heard over the years about betas being “broken omegas” or “SJW bullshit” he was fine with being a beta. The only issue was that other people weren’t as fine with it as he was.

Cas eventually asked Sam about a few other work things while they continued their lunch. Just typical things about how Sam was settling in and who he should look out for. According to Cas, most of the people who worked at North Star were friendly and decent people, but he did warm about Pamela, who was sometimes a little too friendly and the librarian Ash, who threw great semi-illegal parties.

By the time the bell rang and it was time to get the kids from lunch, Sam was feeling pretty good about the rest of his day. There was a little more of a spring in his step and he was able to round out the day much better than he had begun it.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Sam was fairly sure that spending so much time with Cas was going to kill him. After the first six weeks of school and the first round of progress reports went out, Sam’s tiny little crush had blown up into full-blown infatuation. They spent a good forty-five minutes with each other every Monday, plus their occasional lunches with just the two of them. It really was starting to drive him insane. Cas smelled nice, he dressed nice, and he was incredibly attentive, both to the kids he taught and to Sam. He was funny, too, often cracking weird esoteric jokes or delivering sarcastic remarks so flatly that Sam had to pause for a second to figure out whether or not he was actually being serious. He was also full of surprises.

There had been one day, four weeks into the semester, when Sam and Cas had met in the teachers lounge for lunch. There were a few other teachers sitting at the table with them, and Charlie, a spunky teacher’s aid who smelled like a summer wind at the beach.

“I’m just saying,” Charlie said, bracing her elbows on the table and popping a french fry into her mouth, “if Mr. Crowley wanted me to make copies of everything a week in advance he should have told me or at least put a note on the papers. I can’t read minds, you know.”

“He yelled at your for that?” Sam asked.

“Oh yeah, he said it was going to go on my evaluation. Which, okay fine, if it was a consistent problem, but this was one time and I still got the papers to him before he needed them.”

“Crowley is an asshole,” Castiel said, “the only reason he’s even working here is because he failed as a writer and he kisses Roman’s ass.”

Sam snorted, nearly choking on his soda. Cas reached over casually, patting him on the back while he coughed. Charlie’s eyes bulged, also a little surprised by Cas’s swearing.

That was the first time Castiel ever swore, but it sure wasn’t the last. He only seemed to do it when he was really upset by something. Sam heard him swear one other time, when one of the parents called him and demanded they give his kid higher marks because they were worried about their kids future. Cas was pleasant on the phone but turned around and gave a nearly ten minute diatribe about parents who push their kids too damn hard and put too much pressure on kids and teachers to make perfect little brain bots who would become surgeons by the age of nineteen. Sam snickered a bit, but just because Cas was kinda funny when he was pissed, making up words and insults like “ass-butt” and “dick bucket”.

There was another instance in which Cas shocked the hell out of Sam by putting his own ass on the line for a student that wasn’t even his. The academy was for primary and secondary students, thought most of the teachers didn’t spend much time dealing with both. That was until one student, a high school sophomore named Hannah, wanted to transition from omega to alpha and some of the teachers and administrators at school refused to refer to her as an alpha or to change her information on school records. Castiel and a few other teachers threatened to go to the news about it, and administrators relented, not wanting the publicity and potential backlash they would get. Castiel also mentioned that he’d slipped Hannah the number of the local ACLU branch office and suddenly the teachers and administrators started to refer to her as the proper sex. Sam definitely found the righteous indignation Cas spoke with both insanely sexy and incredibly admirable.

Cas was constantly surprising Sam, whether it be with his swearing, his standing up for others, or his attention to detail. He was able to remember things Sam had told him only once and was able to deduce even more. Of course, all this had resulted in Sam being more and more interested in the man, and he almost asked him out on more than one occasion. His family was even starting to notice. The Sunday before progress reports went out, Sam had to field dozens of questions about his “mysterious love interest” at the dinner table. Even Benny got in on pestering him about it rather than just sitting back and enjoy the show. Eventually Sam relented and had to admit that he was interested in someone from work, but that’s as much as he was willing to give up. After dinner, Dean pulled him aside and made sure that Sam wasn’t trying to get it on with the principal or anything. With the image of Mr. Roman’s naked ass unfortunately seared into his brain, Sam vehemently reassured Dean that, no, he wasn’t interested in any of his bosses. Dean’s advice from then on was “Well then what the hell are you waiting for, go get ‘em, tiger!”

It was easy for Dean to say though. He may have chose an unconventional way to live his life, but he had it much easier. He was everything an alpha was expected to be, strong, brave, dedicated, family-oriented, tough, and attractive; he was bound to catch the eye of anyone he wanted, and he did. Dean had two wonderful mates who adored him. Sam wasn’t sure if Cas liked him as more than a friend, and even if he did Sam’s sex had the potential or ruining that. Maybe it was better to know if that would be a deal breaker up front then. Maybe Sam should just bring up his sex and find out what Cas thought about it first, then he would know whether or not it would be worth it to even attempt to move their relationship further.

Sam built his courage up all week, waiting until Friday to even try bringing up the topic. When he didn’t find Cas in his classroom at lunch, though, he pretty much deflated. Maybe he could try it again on Monday, sometime during their usual private lunch. He made his way towards the teacher’s lounge, which was on the opposite end of the building from his classroom.

The teacher’s lounge was just a little bigger than a standard classroom and was, sadly, a little better furnished than Sam’s apartment. It held a few tables in the room where teachers sat and ate their lunches and occasionally played cards. There was a large green couch in the middle of the room, a coffee table in front of it, and two cushy leather chairs on the other side of that. The wall closest to the door had a counter with an ancient coffee pot and a microwave, and occasionally it was home to donuts or bagels in the mornings. There was a single fridge in the room and two bathrooms for the use of teachers only.

During lunch, the lounge was usually fairly crowded. Granted, there were only twelve teachers who taught third, fourth, and fifth grade at North Star, but twelve adults in the same room tended to get loud. Some teachers preferred to eat in their rooms every day, but most of them liked to eat in the lounge or with other teachers. Being stuck in the same room for nearly eight hours a day was a little claustrophobic for Sam, so on the days when he wasn’t eating with Cas he preferred the lounge. Ideally he would have liked to sit outside and eat, especially during the fall, but that would attract attention from kids who needed their playground disputes mediated, and that hour of peace was precious to Sam.

That day had been particularly crowded in the teacher’s lounge. Alicia Banes, one of the fourth grade teachers, approached him as soon as he came through the door.

“Hey, Sam, how’s it going?” She asked.

“Uh, fine I guess.”

“So, what are you doing tomorrow night?”

“I…don’t know?”

“You should come get drinks with us!”

“Drinking? With who?”

“All of us! Or most of us,” she said, rolling her eyes, “Cas never goes because he’s a stick in the mud, but the rest of us like to go. It’s almost a tradition.”

“Yeah,” Max, her brother and one of his fellow third grade teachers, said. “It’s like a “We Survived the First Six Weeks” celebration.”

“I dunno, guys, I don’t really do a lot of drinking anymore.”

“You don’t have to get trashed,” Max said, “it’s more of a relaxing night out with friends kind of thing. We usually just go to a bar and grill. There’s totally no pressure to drink if you don’t want to.”

“Yeah, okay, that doesn’t sound too bad,” Sam said.

“Great!” Alicia said, “give me your phone and I’ll text you the details.”

Sam handed Alicia his phone. She texted herself, then put Sam’s phone back in his hand and texted him the details. She bounced away and Sam found himself catching eyes with Cas who had been sitting at the table across the room, his brow furrowed and hand clenched tight around a spoon. Sam frowned, walking over to Cas and sitting across from him.

“What’s up, Cas?” Sam asked.

Cas’s eyes fell instantly, his death grip loosening on his spoon. He stuck the spoon in the small bowl of tomato soup sitting in front of him. “Hello, Sam. Sorry, I was thinking.”

Sam caught the scent of rotting swamp mud in the air and recoiled. “You’re upset.”

Castiel shrugged and glared out the far window. “It’s nothing, Sam. No need to worry yourself.”

“You sure? You know if you need to you can talk to me, right?”

Castiel flashed him a little half-smile. “Thank you, Sam. I do appreciate it.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Sam dove into his lunch while Cas stayed quiet. Cas was quiet, pushing his soup away and still frowning out the window. The scent of mud and earth faded, probably to something more neutral that Sam couldn’t detect. One of the disadvantages of being a beta meant that he couldn’t tell for scent alone how the people around him felt unless their emotions were very strong. He usually made up for it by paying attention to the way people moved. Of course with Cas that didn’t always work. He was often quiet and stoic, even when he was in a good mood. Now though, Sam could tell that Cas was upset and he didn’t really know why or what to do about it.

“So, uh, Alicia was telling me that a few people get together and go to a bar and grill at the end of the six weeks. Are you planning on going to that?” Sam asked.

Cas gave a single shoulder shrug, “I don’t usually.”

Sam fidgeted, stabbing blindly at the limp lettuce in his salad. “I’m thinking of going.”

“You’ll probably enjoy it,” Cas said. “From what I hear Mrs. Tran is a lot more fun when she does shots.”

“I dunno. I’m not a big drinker anymore. If it’s just going to be me and a bunch of tipsy third grade teachers I probably won't go. I don’t really want to be around everyone if they’re all going to drink too much.”

“I don’t blame you. That’s usually why I don’t go.”

“Well, if we both go we can both be boring and sober together,” Sam said.

Cas hummed. “That’s probably true.”

“So, what do you say? We could go and watch everyone else make fools of themselves? Could be fun.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Good.”

~~~~~

Sam didn’t bother to dress up Saturday night. After wearing nothing but slacks and dress shirts all week Sam was looking forward to being able to wear whatever the hell he wanted. The result was a pair of well-loved blue jeans, a soft t-shirt, and a blue flannel shirt, mostly because it was a little too chilly outside for single layers.

Alicia had told him to head to Rock and Brews at five o’clock, just in time for happy hour. Traffic meant that Sam was nearly thirty minutes late and had to explain to the hostess that he was supposed to meet a few people for drinks but he had no idea whose name they actually reserved the table under. The rest of the teachers took up almost half a section on their own, sitting at two tables pressed together. With Sam got there, there were now nine people at the table, Cas among them. Sam was pretty sure he stopped dead in his tracks when he caught sight of Cas, sitting next to the only empty seat. His hair was all over the place, like he’d been running his hands through it, and he was wearing a Sex Pistols t-shirt that was almost a little too small in the sleeves showing off arm muscles Sam didn’t even know he had. And shit, was that a tattoo? It sure as hell looked like there was a tattoo on the inside of Cas’s arm. He tipped his head in question, gesturing to the seat next to him. Sam shook himself, letting out a breathless laugh as he came around the other side of the table and sat down. Sam was wedged between Castiel and Charlie, with Alicia and Max on the other side. Further down the table, Pamela, Donna, and a few other teachers were carrying on their own conversations.

“I hope you don’t mind, Sam but we already order a bunch of aps,” Alicia said.

“As long as there’s mozzarella sticks, I don’t mind,” Sam said.

“Pssssh. Of course there’s mozzarella sticks,” Max said.

Sam settled in, ordering an ice tea when the waitress came back to refill the drinks everyone else was having. He didn’t speak much at first, just listened to the conversations that were flowing free without worry that any of them might get in trouble if the principal or Dean of students walked in on them.

Alicia went one to talk about one of the phone calls she got from a parent who complained that she’d give her daughter lower marks for math. Max jumped in with a story about how he had to practically fight a mother who insisted that her son didn’t have ADD because it was “made up bullshit” and that Max should just be more assertive with him.

“What about you, Sam, have you got any angry or dumb parents to deal with yet?” Max asked.

“Nah,” Sam said. “Not yet at least.”

“Consider yourself lucky.”

“Yeah, no kidding. What about kids? You got any that are harder to deal with than others?”

“A few I guess. Last week we had some tears because a couple of students really didn’t want to do multiplication but nothing too serious yet. There is one girl who won't leave me alone though,” Sam said.

“Awh,” Alicia cooed, “she’s got a crush.”

Sam snorted. “No, I don’t think it’s that, she probably just wants the attention.”

“Why not? Could be a crush. Happens more than you’d think,” Max said.

“That’s not good,” Sam said.

“Happens though. Lots of little boys and girls had minor crushes on their teachers at one point or another. I had a massive crush on my sixth grade math teacher, Mrs. Robinson,” Charlie said.

“How do I make her stop?”

Alicia snorted, nearly spitting her beer all over the table. “You can’t.”

“Yeah, but I don’t really want an eight year old fawning over me like a little lost puppy. That’s just…” Sam shuddered, “creepy as hell.”

“It’s about boundaries. Let her know what’s okay and what’s not. Obviously you don’t play favorites but make sure she doesn’t get any special attention from you. Barring serious circumstances, of course, like injury or distress. And obviously don’t be alone with her. If it gets too bad bring it up with the administration, but most young ones are content to admire from afar and get over it after a while. You could also try acting more like her dad. Little ones don’t tend to like stern authority,” Cas said.

“But don’t be an asshole,” Charlie said, “you don’t want to make her too upset if slash when she realizes you don’t like her.”

“Ugh,” Sam groaned, “this would be typical right? Just my luck.”

“Well it makes sense,” Alicia said.

“Why?”

“Well you are aesthetically pleasing,” Cas said.

Sam jerked his head, finding Cas flushing slightly, laser-like focus on the drink in front of him.

Max snorted, letting out an high pitched chuckle. Cas frowned up at him, but he only smiled and shrugged.

“No, Cas is right. I mean, if I had to pick a dude,” Charlie said.

Sam twisted around to face Charlie. “I…thank you?”

“Yeah, totally. Just don’t go getting any ideas,” she said.

Sam shook his head and before he could say anything else two servers approached the table, trays in hand. One of almost every appetizer was laid out on the table, small plates for everyone so they could take their pick. Sam took a few mozzarella sticks, barbeque chicken wings, and a handful of nachos. It was a lot more fried food than he usually ate, but it was the weekend and he really didn’t care. A man cannot live on salads alone, after all.

It took about three bites before what Cas had said really caught up to him, and it set like a heavy rock in his stomach. Cas had said he was aesthetically pleasing and he had no idea how the hell he was supposed to take that. Was it a compliment or not? Coming from anyone else, Sam would probably brush it off as a “I acknowledge you’re attractive but you’re also not my type” kind of comment, but from Cas? Cas tended to be overly formal as it was. It could have been genuine. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking on Sam’s part.

Conversation shifted again, now towards movies that everyone wanted to see but never had which eventually led to a good natured argument between Cas and Charlie about whether the Millennium Falcon or the Enterprise would win in a fight. The alcohol that Charlie had already consumed loosened her tongue, causing her to pronounce it was Millennial Falcon once or twice, which she giggled at more than anyone else.

The servers came back after Charlie and Cas had agreed to disagree and took orders for main dishes. Sam went with the grilled chicken burger, because even if he was being a little lax with his usual diet, he wasn’t about to completely throw it all away.

Everyone except for Sam and to some extent, Cas, were loosening a little, a pleasant little flush blossoming on their cheeks. Cas had switched to coke, but he was still obviously less sober than usual, leaning into Sam a lot more than usual and staring almost dazedly at whoever was talking. Charlie was much more talkative, which was something Sam didn’t even think was possible but she somehow managed. Max and Alicia were looser, Max sliding out of his chair from time to time and Alicia leaning over the table, resting her chin in her hands. The whole atmosphere had a pleasant buzz of contentment to it. The evening was full of laughter and Sam couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun out. Sure, he enjoyed his time with his family, but it was nice to spend time with people he wasn’t related to either through blood or marriage. It had really been too long since he’d been social.

After their meals were finished the group started to disburse until the servers were anxiously hovering around the table, not quite shoving them out the door but their presence was enough for Sam to notice and subtly encourage the rest of them to leave the table. It was close to nine when Sam, Cas, Charlie, Max, and Alicia left the restaurant Max and Alicia calling a cab and inviting the rest of them to head out to another bar. Charlie agreed, but Sam and Cas turned them down. Cas was more sober now, having only had two drinks and soda over the night, and Sam felt fine with letting him drive.

Sam climbed into his own car, taking a few minutes to fiddle with the radio and check his text messages (all minor little complaints from Jo and Dean, who had apparently been fighting again) when there was a tap on his window. Sam jumped, turning to find himself face to face with Cas. He rolled down the window.

“What’s up, Cas?” Sam asked.

“My car wont start. I think I probably left my lights on…again. Would you mind giving me a jump? It’s the Continental.” Cas pointed to the gold car sitting in the corner of the parking lot sitting front out.

“Sure.”

Cas walked back to his car and Sam started his and drove over. He parked, blocking a few cars in their own spots. He figured it probably wouldn’t take too long so it really didn’t matter much. He took the jumper cables from his backseat, and walked over, trying hard not to oggle Cas too much as he leaned over the open hood and removed the rubber caps on top of the battery posts. He hooked the cable to his own car, then to Cas’s, still huddled over the engine next to Cas.

“Thank you for doing this Sam. I appreciate it. I would hate to have to call a tow truck for my own stupidity.”

“No problem,” Sam said, “I’m just glad I was here.”

“I am, too.” Cas smiled at him with that cute little crooked twist of his lips that Sam couldn’t help but adore. He ducked his head, not wanting to be too obvious with the dumb little smile he couldn’t stop.

“Sam, may I ask you a question?” Cas asked.

“Go for it.”

“Are you mated?”

“Uh, no. No I’m not,” Sam said, eyes focused on the engine in front of him.

“Why not?”

“I dunno,” Sam shrugged, “I guess I just haven’t found the right person yet. Dating is difficult for me and I’m not really a bar scene kinda guy.”

Cas hummed next to him, their hands pressed against each others on the frame of the car. “That’s hard for me to believe.”

“Why’s that?”

“If I may be blunt, you’re rather attractive and young and you smell nice. I’m surprised more people aren’t throwing themselves at your feet.”

Sam blushed, squirming. He glanced over in Cas’s direction to find the man staring at him, the street lamp behind him casting a warm glow across his skin, lighting the tips of his hair like a halo. There was a definite intensity in his gaze and it made Sam want to shy away and move closer at the same time.

“Yeah, well. Sure, there are plenty of nice people I’ve met but most of my dates haven’t lasted long. I actually can’t even remember the last time I was on a real date. It doesn’t usually work out for me,” Sam said.

“I’m not sure whether that’s a pity or not.”

There was a strong spicy tang to the air, something like cinnamon and allspice. Sam shivered, a warm tingle he hadn’t felt in a long time rippling down his spine. Cas was already close, but he leaned in closer and even though he was about half a foot shorter than Sam he seemed to loom over Sam.

“As I said you’re very attractive.”

Sam’s heart pounded in his chest, his breath catching in his chest. “I…um…”

“Tell me I’m not misinterpreting this,” Cas said, his voice a husky whisper, the rich scent of wet earth and spice emanating from his skin. “I don’t want to have misinterpreted.”

Sam gulped, licking his lips. Cas’s eyes followed the movement. “I…Cas…” Sam shifted, his left hand slipping off the steel and into the car. He jerked and jumped away as fast as he could. Luckily nothing had been hot or moving and the worst Sam got was a scratch on his hand. It stung like hell, but it wasn’t dangerous.

“Dammit!” Sam shouted. He looked over to Cas, who was now standing a few feet away from the hood, staring at Sam like Sam was a wolf and he was a rabbit. He gasped.

‘I…I should check if my car will start now,” he said, already swinging the car door open. The engine turned over without any issue.

Sam sighed, unhooking the jumper cables and shutting the hood. The two of them didn’t say anything until they were both in their car and Sam had pulled back far enough for Cas to get out of the space.

“Thank you again Sam,” Castiel said through the open driver’s side window.

Sam didn’t even get a chance to respond before Cas was driving away.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam was a dumbass. Cas was right there, smelling incredible and pretty much asking for a kiss and he couldn’t even say anything. Instead, that unfortunate clumsy streak he thought he had gotten rid of had to rear it’s ugly head and screw everything up. He could have kissed Cas, could have told him how he felt but instead totally fumbled and probably freaked Cas the hell out. It was probably just as well anyway, considering he’d have to tell Cas all about being a beta and that would probably be the end of it. Maybe the beta thing wouldn’t bug Cas, maybe it would, but he almost didn’t want to risk it. Cas was great and maybe if things were different they could be together, but between the presence Cas had and the musky scent of earth and spice, it was pretty clear that Cas was an alpha, and that presented it’s own issues. Alpha biology was different than his own, even if they were both male. Sure, Sam could take a knot, but sometimes it was difficult. And sometimes Sam liked to be the one to do the penetration and he hadn’t met many male alphas outside of Dean and Aaron who actually enjoyed that or even thought about it. If they weren’t sexually compatible, well, Sam didn’t know how long a relationship could last.

Sam barely made it to his moms’ in time for dinner. He didn’t really want to, but he arrived and plopped down on the couch like he always did. The second he did, however, Jo, Aaron, and Dean all set curious eyes on him, pausing their conversation and sniffing the air.

“What’s wrong, Sam?” Jo asked.

“You smell sad,” Aaron said.

“You smell sad and, something else,” Dean said, crowding into Sam’s personal space on the couch, “you smell like…alpha.”

A small snarl escaped Jo’s lips.

“Who the fuck do I gotta kill?” Dean and Jo asked at once.

Sam sighed and sunk into the couch, rolling his eyes. “It’s nothing guys.”

“My ass,” Jo said, “what happened?”

“Nothing.”

“You don’t smell like nothing happened,” Aaron said.

Dean and Jo were growling now, sitting stiff in the seats like they were ready to spring out the door and throttle whoever Sam said was the cause of his pain. Sam groaned. If they got much louder they would alert Benny and Ellen, and then he would have five agitated alphas on his case. And as annoying as Dean and Jo were, he really didn’t want to have his mother in attack mode. Hell, even Mary would get in on it, too. She may be an omega, but she would still be willing to kill someone if they messed with her kids.

“Alright, fine, there’s this alpha at work that I’m kinda interested in and we almost kissed last night. But nothing happened.”

“What did they do? Why are you sad?” Jo asked.

“Nothing. Nothing happened. It wasn’t a big deal. I was helping him jump his car and we almost kissed. But I fucked it up so it didn’t happen.”

“You really like this guy, huh?” Dean asked.

Sam shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’m sorry, Sam,” Jo said, patting him on the leg. Sam gave another half-hearted shrug.

“But why do you still smell like him? Like really strongly like him?” Aaron asked.

“He wasn’t marking you, was he?” Dean asked.

“I…I don’t think intentionally. We were sitting really close at dinner.”

“Intentional or not, he totally marked you,” Aaron said.

“Well that’s just great,” Sam muttered.

“Hey, it could be. He marked you without thinking about it and you’re sad he didn’t smooch you. Obviously he likes you too so what’s the problem?” Dean asked.

“It wouldn’t work out.”

“Why not? Is he mated already? God an evil twin? Have kids? Oh! Wait is he your boss?” Jo asked.

“No, not any of that. He’s just a co-worker.”

“The same one you’ve been having lunch dates with since you started?” Aaron asked.

“They’re not lunch dates.”

“They’re totally lunch dates,” Jo said.

“They’re not. We were just having lunch as professionals and friends,” Sam huffed.

“Come on Sammy, when’s the last time you scent marked someone you were ‘professionals and friends’ with?” Dean asked, air quotes and all.

Sam groaned. “They weren’t dates, okay. Do I like him? Yes. Does he like me? Pretty sure. But, it’s not going to work out. I’m not the relationship type.”

“Bullshit,” Dean said. “You wanna know what I think it is?”

“Well you’re gonna tell me anyway, so go ahead.”

“You really like him and you’re scared,” Dean said.

Sam huffed.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Just shut up, Dean.”

“Hey, all I’m saying is that you shouldn’t be. I’m not tryin’ to be a dick here. But you should just go for it. So you messed it up last night, but you can always try it again.”

“Dean’s right,” Jo said.

Dean smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. Sam rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, well, that’s easy for you to say. You’ve already got two mates,” Sam said.

“Yeah, but I didn’t get there by not going for it, did I?”

“No, you go there by backing into a table and begging for pie,” Aaron said.

“No comments from the peanut gallery,” Dean said, pointing his finger at Aaron, scowling playfully. “But seriously Sam, it can’t hurt to just go for it.”

“That’s easy for you to say, you don’t have to convince people that your sex actually exists,” Sam said.

Dean stiffened instantly, his voice evening and taking on a dark edge, “This alpha being a dick about you being a beta?”

“No,” Sam said, “I haven’t told him yet. But other people do. I just…I dunno if I can do it again, especially not with Cas.”

“Cas? You mean the same Cas who you were saying threatened the wrath of public shaming on the entire school for some dicks refusing to acknowledge a trans kid? The same Cas who you told us volunteers at homeless shelters?" Jo asked.

Sam nodded.

“Dude, you’re probably safe with him. And if he hasn’t heard of betas, which I doubt, he’ll probably be easier to talk to about it. Don’t throw away your shot just yet,” Dean said.

“And if he does turn out to be a dick, we’ll kick his ass,” Jo said.

Sam snickered. “You don’t need to kick anyone’s ass.”

“Need and want are two different things,” Dean said, “and if he hurts my brother it’s a very strong want.”

~~~~~

Sunday dinner, had included a round of questioning from his mothers similar to the grilling he’d gotten from Dean, Jo, and Aaron but this time with more “ _What does he look like? What does he smell like? What’s his family like? How old is he? Is he a good man?_ ” kind of questions flying from them after Sam explained the situation. He begrudgingly told his mothers every detail they asked for, knowing full well that with Dean and Jo at the table, it was all going to be teasing fodder eventually.

Everyone was in agreement that Sam should just go for it. Which was all well and good for them to say; they weren’t the ones actually putting anything on the line. Their encouragement did make Sam feel a bit better though, and on Monday morning he was at least willing to attempt to talk to Cas about what happened. He didn’t want it hanging in the air between them, at the very least. If Cas thought it had been a mistake, then Sam could pretend like it never happened, even thought it would suck for a while. There was always the possibility, however, that Cas would want to make something out of it, and that almost scared Sam more.

The conversation had to wait however. Cas wasn’t at work on Monday. Sara, a spunky young woman taking night classes to finish her degree, was his replacement. She was nice, and Sam got along with her fine while the two of them watched over their combined reading groups, but it bothered the hell out of him that Cas was gone.

Cas wasn’t back at school until Wednesday, and by then the rumor mill had already started. Sam had showed up to work with Cas’s scent still on his skin, though he tried to mask it with stronger cologne than he was usually comfortable wearing. Unfortunately, the Ralph Lauren stuff he’d dabbed on his neck only made the musk of it stand out more, amplifying the heady spice of Cas’s scent over his usually mild aroma of cut oak. Unfortunately the musky and tangy scent on his skin made him smell like he’d been spending a lot of time with a rutting alpha. It resulted in a lot of strange looks from staff and fellow teachers as well as a few passing whispers he caught fragments of like, “ _Did you know?_ ” and “ _Another alpha! Can you believe?_ ” and “ _That’s probably where Novak is_ ”.

Charlie attempted to give him a high five in the teacher’s lounge, and looked especially upset when he explained everything to her. She bit her lip, but he could tell that she wanted to say something about the whole issue. Thankfully she let it pass. Sam really didn’t want to deal with yet another person telling him what he should do.

When Wednesday’s lunch finally did come around, Sam dropped his class off and waited at Castiel’s door so he couldn’t slip away. Sam had run into him twice before lunch, once in the teacher’s lounge and once in the hall, but Cas refused to make eye contact.

Sam stood there, leaning against the door when Cas finally showed up. He stopped a good five feet from Sam, huffing a sigh.

“Sam, please, I can explain,”  he said.

“Why don’t we do this is the room,” Sam more stated than asked.

Cas nodded, eyes cast to the ground as he unlocked the classroom and pushed the door open, letting Sam enter first. He looked like he was about to get dumped. Neither of them said anything until Cas was sitting at his desk and  Sam was sitting on a chair he dragged away from a student’s desk. It was awkward, being tucked so tightly into himself with his knees at his chest, but this needed to be private.

“Sam,” Cas sighed, “I am deeply, deeply sorry for what I did Saturday night. There is no excuse for what I did and I can only hope that you will forgive me.”

“Cas, you don’t need to apologize.”

“I marked you, Sam, and I didn’t even ask if it was okay. I mistook your kindness and friendship for something more and I have betrayed your trust.  It was inappropriate.”

“What? Cas, no that’s not what happened at all. You were a little tipsy and sure you got a little close but it didn’t bother me. I like you, Cas.”

Cas offered a small half smile, but shook his head. He looked down at his hands which he held under his desk. “I like you very much, Sam. You are a wonderful friend and one of the most interesting and kind men I have ever met. But my behavior…”

“What behavior? Sitting a little close and leaning in for a kiss?” Sam chuckled. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I invaded your space and startled you,” Cas said.

“What?”

“You jumped away from me.”

“I scraped my hand on your car. I jumped because it hurt and I thought I hurt myself worse than I did,” Sam said, raising the back of his hand. There was a faint scab along it from where it bled just a little.

“Oh. You weren’t…that was all it was? You were flustered…I thought…”

Sam laughed, “Yeah, Cas, that’s all it was. I, uh, I’ve been harboring a crush on you since I met you.”

Cas perked up, his smile nearly blinding as he reached across the table. Sam took it, running his thumb across Cas’s knuckles. Cas sighed, he soft smell of lavender and honeysuckle radiating off him.

“But,” Sam said, stilling, “there is something you need to know right now. I’m not going to hold it against you, but I think it’s best we both know where this is going to go now.”

Cas shifted, narrowing his eyes at Sam. “Okay.”

Sam took a deep breath. Cas squeezed his hand. “I’m a beta,” Sam said.

“Okay?” Cas tipped his head still squinting. “Is that it?”

Sam huffed a harsh chuckle, “Yeah, I guess.”

Cas squeezed his hand. “I like you for you, Sam. I’m utterly indifferent about your sex.”

“I can’t carry children. And I don’t really enjoy taking a knot all the time.”

A sly smile crossed Cas’s lips. “I highly doubt that’ll be an issue, Sam.”

“Are you sure?”

Cas chuckled. “Very much so.”

“You really don’t care?”

“Sam, I am very fond of you. And if you never want to do anything sexual at all, it’s fine with me.”

“Well, I didn’t say that,” Sam said. “I just prefer…other stuff.”

“Oh?” Cas quirked an eyebrow.

Sam shrugged, a blush creeping up his neck.

Cas smiled, shaking his head. “We can talk about it later, if you’d like. Perhaps over dinner this Friday?”

“I’d like that very much.”

They just stared at each other for a while. It was a little awkward, and eventually Sam started to laugh. Cas giggled in response until they were both laughing hysterically at nothing.

“Sam?” Cas asked when their laughter died down and Sam was wiping tears from his eyes.

“Yeah?”

“I should wait for Friday, but I really don’t want to. May I kiss you?”

Sam stood, leaning over the table until he was right in Cas’s face. Cas raised up, his hand settling over the curve of Sam’s jaw and they kissed. Cas smelled even better up close and Sam sighed into the kiss, pushing back against Cas’s lips a little harder. By the time they were both finished they were just a little out of breath and laughing again. It was peaceful, for the duration of the lunch hour, Sam and Cas just enjoying each others company. They ate their lunches, not saying much but not needing to either. It wasn’t until the bell rang that Sam even thought to ask where Cas had been the past two days.

“Were you sick these past two days?” Sam asked, picking up his lunch bag and setting the chair back at the desk he took it from.

Cas flushed slightly, ducking his head. “Not exactly. I uh, I hit my rut Friday evening. I probably shouldn’t’ve even been out on Saturday but I was on suppressors so I didn’t think it would be an issue. The past three days were a little more irritating than usual, though.”

Sam laughed. “That’s why you were worried about overstepping?”

“It was a serious possibility. I do tend to be much bolder when I’m in rut.”

“Well, I’m kinda glad you were to be honest.”

Cas rolled his eyes but smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sam.”

“You bet.”

~~~~

It didn’t take long for the rumors to escalate. With Cas having disappeared after the teacher’s night out and Sam smelling the way he had, there were whispers and questions following the two of them everywhere. Suddenly, Sam and Cas’s usual activities were suspicious to a lot of people. Charlie, Max, and Alicia new that Sam and Cas had started officially dating and were taking it slow. Everyone else however, well, that was a different story. Charlie was feeding rumors back to Sam, most of which were about how Cas and Sam had secretly mated and apparently that was a huge scandal. Sam wasn’t aware of how much until he was called in to Dick Roman’s office.

Dick Roman was the head of North Star Academy. Nothing happened without him knowing about it. He was also very self-important, if the giant portrait of himself hanging behind his desk was anything to go by.

Sam was sitting in the squeaky leather chair in front of Roman’s desk, twiddling his thumbs when the man finally came in.

“Sam Harvelle-Winchester,” Roman said, a predatory smile plastered on his lips, “didn’t really expect to see you here.”

“I’m not really sure why I am, Mr. Roman.”

“Please, call me Dick,” Roman said. “Though,” he undid the button on his suit jacket, sitting down behind his desk, “am I surprised to hear you say that.”

“Why’s that?”

“The rumors? They’ve been all over the academy, even floating around to some of the parents.” Roman leered at him.

“What rumors would those be?”

“Don’t play dumb, Sam, we both know you’re not. Several little birdies told me that you and Mr. Novak are is some kind of less than professional relationship.”

“I can assure you nothing inappropriate is going on on school grounds,” Sam said.

“I don’t know if I believe that.”

“Well, it’s the truth. And you have no proof. You can’t discipline me or Mr. Novak for anything based on rumor.”

“True, perhaps, but I can remind you that plenty of nice people pay a lot of money to send their kids here. Rumors mean something to these people. They worry about what their kids are exposed to.”

Sam clenched his fists, sitting straighter in his chair. He could read between the lines. “Is this because Mr. Novak and I are both men?”

“No,” Roman said. He was smiling, but his eyes were like daggers. “It has nothing to do with the fact that you and Mr. Novak are men or that you’re alphas. It has everything to do with the fact that parents might be concerned with what’s going on here and if they move their kids to other schools we lose funds and we might have to downsize.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“I’m merely reminding you that actions have consequences. And that you have a nice salary for a teacher.”

Sam snickered, leaning back in his chair. He smiled, but he was seething. How dare this smarmy fucker threaten him. “Do you know what I used to do before I started subbing Mr. Roman?”

“Grad school.”

“Law school.”

Roman sat up in his chair.

“And I know what you’re trying to say here. I’m not dumb. And I know that if you even attempt to penalize either me or Mr. Novak, I can and will take legal action. You forget your academy isn’t immune to issues when it comes to LGBT relations, and I really don’t think you’d enjoy being sued for discrimination. So no, I am not going to end my relationship with Mr. Novak or deny that we’re in one, Dick.” Sam stood, arms crossed over his chest, “And by the way, I’m not an alpha, I’m a beta, and if you have a problem with that you definitely have a lawsuit on your hands.” He then turned and left, leaving the door open behind him.

~~~~~

“You really told Roman you’d sue him?” Dean asked, mouth gaping open and still full of mashed potatoes. Sam grimaced and turned away. He’d been saving his story the entire week, just to see the look on everyone’s face. Jo was positively delighted, Aaron and Benny thought it was hilarious and his moms were so damn proud. Cas, who was sitting next to him at the dinner table, was squeezing his hand under the table, setting his chin in his other hand to hide his smile.

“Of course I did. What was I going to do, let him get away with that shit?”

“Language!” Mary scolded.

“Sorry, mom.”

“I’m very proud of you, Sam,” Ellen said, taking a sip of her wine, “definitely my kid.”

Mary huffed and swatted Ellen on the arm. “He’s both our kid.”

Ellen shrugged, then kissed Mary on the cheek, “Yeah, you’re right. That ‘give ‘em rope’ routine is definitely more you. I would’ve told him to stick it.”

“I almost did,” Sam said, “but I figure I’ll finish out the year at least.”

“Practical,” Benny said. “You applied anywhere else yet?”

Sam shrugged, “Cedar Ridge is hiring.”

“That charter school for child prodigies?” Dean asked.

Sam nodded.

Dean shook his head. “I have no idea how you get all the good jobs.”

“Well, I still need to go through the interview,” Sam said.

“You’ll get it,” Cas said, “they’d be stupid not to take you.”

Cas was looking up at him with such admiration that Sam couldn’t help blush. There was just something about the way Cas looked at him that made him feel good and important.

“So when are you too getting mated?” Jo asked, nudging Sam in the ribs. Sam kicked her under the table and rolled his eyes.

“You know, your mother and I were mated after only three months…” Ellen started. Inevitably, this would end in another line of questioning and pressuring about mating, but maybe that wasn’t such a bad thought.


End file.
